The last hope for Jahi McMath to be kept on a ventilator may come from a former Long Island hairdresser who runs a brain-injury treatment center dedicated to Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman whose case sparked a fierce nationwide end-of-life debate.

The local news here said a pediatrician said that she was responsive and the family says she responds to their voices. Now I don’t know about the credibility of the family but a pediatrician is an MD and should know what they’re talking about.

I feel for the family, they must think that as long as she has a pulse and they see her chest rise and fall, she’s still alive.

I’m holding out hope for a miracle.

Is the hospital wanting her organs?

6
posted on 01/01/2014 9:03:31 AM PST
by Lx
(Do you like it? Do you like it, Scott? I call it, "Mr. & Mrs. Tenorman Chili.")

Venturing into landmine territory ..... what is going on here is not for Jahi, but for her shell-shocked, grief stricken family whose child had what has become a fairly common, routine procedure that went terribly wrong. They have not and cannot come to grips with it ..... yet. How they eventually do this remains to be seen ... right now, they are desperate not to accept what has happened.

From personal experience over the last couple of years and an ongoing situation, I have come to recognize the significant difference between “quantity” of life and “quality” of life. My personal belief is that, at some point (each defines his own ‘point’), you let nature take its course ..... no one escapes death. For those who have no faith and for whom death is a bottomless black pit, this is terribly hard. For those with faith, who believe our loved one is going to heaven to forever be in the presence of God’s love, we struggle with our human emotions and not wanting to lose the earthly presence, but we are ultimately at peace with the assurance we are not forever parted from our loved one. I pray for Jahi’s parents to find peace.

Generally, and in my experience... One of the examining MD’s should be a Neurologist or Neurosurgeon as they have an elevated awareness of how to assess CNS function in the presence of mechanical supports.

1) No evidence of drug induced coma, hypothermia, or other reversable cause of coma.

2) No evidence of Cortical, Sub-cortical, or Brain stem activity by expert exam.

3) No spontaneous respiratory activity, in the absence of metabolic parameters that inhibit Brain stem activity.

3 doctors have said she is brain dead. 2 from the hospital and we can give latitude to those that say they MIGHT have a conflict. The third and INDEPENDENT Dr.Paul Graham Fisher, a pediatric neuro-oncologist at Stanford School of Medicine, backs their assessments.

12
posted on 01/01/2014 9:20:46 AM PST
by Drango
(A liberal's compassion is limited only by the size of someone else's wallet.)

My understanding is she has been declared by at least 3 MD’s. This pediatician is somebody the family brought in. According to Calif law she is DEAD.
I agree this is either super denial or just the beginning of a huge lawsuit.
Freegards
LEX

This is a difficult case without knowing specific medical details it really isn’t possible to make a judgment.

If ( and a big if) as the family says she is making movements of any kind than this is a sign of brain activity. My initial feeling ( as someone who is medically trained) is to agree that she is most likely brain dead and support should be withdrawn. However reports by the family of movement is disturbing especially given reports that it wasn’t necessarily the complication of the surgery that caused her cardiac arrest but an extreme delay in recognizing that a complication ( bleeding) had occurred. This makes the hospital appear less than trustworthy in this case.

I too wonder about the standards for brain death and the qualifications of those making the determination. I remember a few months back a news story about a neurosurgeon who was declared brain dead who did come out of a coma and had quite a lot to say about it.

15
posted on 01/01/2014 9:26:01 AM PST
by longfellowsmuse
(last of the living nomads)

Terry Schiavo was much different. Her folks and family were very humble and just wanted to take her home to be cared for by them. This girl Jai is dead (in some ways) and her folks never talk about bringing her home. They talk about running up huge bills at some kind of care facility. Bills they will not be paying. I doubt they are paying jack right now....all they do is run their mouths while the hospital is providing care it knows it will never be re-reimbursed for. Hospital keeps it mouth shut for racial reasons

16
posted on 01/01/2014 9:26:06 AM PST
by dennisw
(The first principle is to find out who you are then you can achieve anything -- Buddhist monk)

we shall see.
Meanwhile here is a good comment from the UK Daily Mail>>>

Having worked in insurance authorizations I would almost bet the insurance co stopped paying for her care the day she was declared brain dead bc daily updates have to be done. And rightfully so. I usually hate insurance companies like everyone else but their obligation is done as is the hospital’s. The hospital and everyone who in turn goes there after is paying for her. This family has been delusional from the beginning when they claimed all they wanted was a chance at a Christmas miracle to come home. Guess what. We are at Jan 1 2014. Then they said all they wanted was another doctor to look at her and declare not brain dead. That doctor said “Yup. Brain dead”. I called it then that they’d keep on and on. People always think God will give you what you ask. God teaches us lessons and it’s not what we demand. I hope the judge finally ends this. Give the child some peace and dignity. She...is...DEAD. She’s not in a coma. She’s dead. As unfortunate as it is there’s no changing it.

Yes, she was and it is troubling that people have politicized the issue in trying to compare the two. It actually does a disservice to Schaivo's story in that people who weren't really educated about Schaivo's condition are now led to believe that she must've been brain dead as well.

‘To watch my daughter just sit there and not have food ... I’m just so happy that she is kind of a thick girl so she still looks good,’ Latasha Winkfield said today.

‘I tell her every day, ‘Jahi, you losin’ weight girl, but you still look good.’ I just think it’s inhumane to not feed my child, to not refer to her by her name, and stop us in our tracks.’

‘Performing medical procedures on the body of a deceased human being is simply not something Children’s Hospital can do or ask its staff to assist in doing,’ he said.

Monday by a hospital spokesman.

He said the hospital would allow a doctor retained by the family to insert a feeding tube and to replace the oral ventilator keeping Jahi’s heart beating with a tracheal tube  surgical procedures that would stabilize Jahi if she is moved to a facility willing to keep caring for her.

Straus, the hospital’s lawyer, reiterated in his letter that the hospital would release the girl’s body as soon as her family provided a detailed plan outlining how the move would be accomplished and written permission from the coroner. But he said neither has been submitted.

‘No facility has stated, unconditionally or otherwise, that it is prepared to immediately accept Jahi’s body,’ he wrote.

Also this family is intoxicated by their 15 minutes of fame of being part of the daily media merry-go-round. It goes to peoples heads. This is like one big Montel Williams show that is only featuring them and Jai

23
posted on 01/01/2014 10:04:45 AM PST
by dennisw
(The first principle is to find out who you are then you can achieve anything -- Buddhist monk)

I would trust Ben Carson to give another opinion. The Media lied about Terri Schiavo’s situation, and I will never trust them again to tell the truth when it comes to state-sponsored Euthanasia. All the doctors had to do was get this child on a ventilator & g-tube for nutrition and transfer her to a long-term facility — why railroad her death unless it is to harvest her organs ?

Unborn children have brain activity, this child does not. Her brain is in the process of decomposing, and it will soon liquify and drain out of her nose. Horrific but true. Your example is pathetic at best.

If that is all true, that the child was doing things she wasn’t supposed to be doing during her recovery, WHERE WERE THE NURSES??? They and the surgeon were the ones who should have made sure the family knew what was expected - I would have thrown them all out if they were contributing to Jai’s situation.

She didn’t simply have her tonsils removed. Jahi underwent three surgical procedures for the treatment of her sleep apnea. This included a tonsillectomy, a uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), and removal of nasal turbinates. I’ve read the UPPP surgery is particularly risky and is known to cause a lot of bleeding out.

I think these are the facts that need to come out. People are blaming the hospital 100% because all they hear is “ routine procedure “ when it really wasn’t. The parents knew the risks. Personally, I think it would’ve been a lot less risky to put that girl on a diet. Sleep apnea can be brought on by weight gain, and if a person always had it, being overweight certainly doesn’t make it any better. My husband had borderline sleep apnea, diagnosed after a sleep study. He lost 20 pounds, its barely nonexistent now.

Now, despite any of that, I believe it should be up to the family and not the hospital to pull the plug.

Medical personnel cannot be present in the room around the clock. Did the family continue to indulge this child during the recovery regardless of the protocol that was made clear to them? This poor soul's condition could have easily been fixed if the parents had not let her get obese (but then again look at mom), or if they had switched to a healthier lifestyle so that she could lose weight. Instead they elected a quick fix: surgery. Unfortunately, and I truly can't imagine losing one of my babies, there is always a risk with surgery. Unless the docs screwed something up then this family is completely delusional and/or loves the attention.

I remember a few months back a news story about a neurosurgeon who was declared brain dead who did come out of a coma and had quite a lot to say about it.

This neurosurgeon, Dr. Ebel Alexander, went on to write a best selling book about his near-death experience.

The problem though is that he was never clinically declared brain dead. Parts of his brain shut down following a meningitis-induced coma. He was in a coma but his brain was still receiving oxygen. Jehi McMath's brain is not receiving oxygen and is by now most likely highly decomposed.

There have been several people in other countries who revived after being declared brain dead. It is argued that in these countries, where the laws governing organ donations are far more proactive, the criteria for establishing brain death is different from those in the United States.

Of course, doctors are human and make human mistakes and there are cases of people returning after being erroneously declared brain dead. They survived only because they weren't really brain dead in the first place.

It's reasonable to say that after three weeks of no brain activity whatsoever, this is not the case with Jahi McMath.

I could see that hospital refusing to treat her anymore. What I can't see is why the parents aren't allowed to find a facility willing to take this young girl or being allowed to take their daughter home.

Disconnecting life support is one thing. Forcing the girl to stay in that hospital violates the parents' rights. Wasn't that actually what the issue came down to in the Terry Schiavo outrage?

Disconnecting life support is one thing. Forcing the girl to stay in that hospital violates the parents' rights. Wasn't that actually what the issue came down to in the Terry Schiavo outrage?

They're not trying to take the girl home. They want her admitted to a long-term care facility. Until now they haven't been able to find one. They are also being asked to by hospital to provide, in writing, a plan for the continued care of Jehi. They have not done so. Perhaps now they can. Also at issue is the insertion of a feeding tube. Doctors at her current hospital will not perform surgery on a dead person, as Jehi has been legally declared.

In Schiavo's case, her husband was her primary next of kin and legally allowed to make medical decisions on her behalf. He made the argument that Terri would not have wanted to continue living in her condition and that prolonged life support should end. He was challenged by her family in a very acrimonious and public battle but he ultimately prevailed in the courts.

Really? The news report I saw said the pediatrician said that she was not brain dead. If he hasn't examined her, what is he basing his opinion on? While I'm sure there are ways to video conference the patient and look at the records yet the report made it sound like he examined her at the hospital.

I feel bad for the family, the Doctors tell you the surgery is no big deal and then she ends up possibly brain dead? People need to know that any surgery is dangerous and there is an element of risk and it sounds like this was voluntary surgery, not a life threatening problem.

48
posted on 01/01/2014 11:38:21 AM PST
by Lx
(Do you like it? Do you like it, Scott? I call it, "Mr. & Mrs. Tenorman Chili.")

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